1993 Suburban 1500 Towing

alex16 · October 14, 2009

I've been re united with my old beast, a 1993 Suburban 1500 2wd. Its got a fully rebuilt 4L60E transmission I believe installed by my friend that had it for a few years. I'm very limited on funds and my normal daily driver (1997 4runner) is down with head gasket blues (common problem w/3.4s after 250k miles). I had a 3/4 ton 92 chevy van radiator donated to replace the horrible leaky one (the one I installed was like 31 inches and the original was 35 inches from tank to tank). The oil cooler lines were striped out so I by passed them. The transmission lines were in good shape and I flushed the cooler before installing the radiator. The transmission fluid is still cherry and smells great with 12k since rebuild.

Here is my towing deli-ma.

I need to tow my friends race car houston-dallas with a very light (I move it by hand daily) twin axel 14ft trailer and his 1900lb car. Its a total under 3,000lbs I would estimate.

I've always towed in 4th gear with my weak (when in compared to this suburban) 4runner instead of 5th, Can I get away with overdrive and higher speed (I.E.) 60-65mph or would I be better off staying in 3rd rather than overdrive and keeping it down to 55-60. The trailer is in excellent shape, all bearings repacked and tires in good shape, brakes spot on. I plan on getting a aftermarket drain pan to increase fluid amount and give a better cooling effect, I also plan on installing a larger transmission cooler in the future, I have a temp gauge but the sending unit was lost during the rebuild I'm guessing. I never did much towing with it when I had it the first time and overdrive never worked.

Stevens03 · October 14, 2009

3000lbs isn't alot of weight. If the burb seems like it's shifting alot, then pull the gear selector down to 3rd. I don't think you'll have to much trouble.

Welcome to the site

pwall · October 14, 2009

I agree. As long as the tranmission isn't 'hunting', then D should be fine.

If it's hunting, drop it in 3rd and slow down a little.

rodram · October 14, 2009

... I have to disagree...

... for my money, (after putting $2800 into a total rebuild 4L60E this summer)

.. In my opinion.... keep the transmission in '3' when pulling the trailer.... newer trucks have other transmission controls like tow/haul mode, but your '93 is going to rely on YOU to keep it from being overstressed